Well, I was offered the job this morning and turned down the job this afternoon. That’s it. I hate it, but what can you do?

What I did was drive my new car (I probably should’ve mentioned this purchase when I got it a week ago, yup, I drive a station wagon) up to Mary’s Peak and hike up to the summit. This is the highest point on the coastal range in Oregon and was incredibly pretty even with the overcast weather today. Supposedly on a clear day you can see all the way to the Pacific in one direction and major Cascade peaks in the other (including Mt. Ranier in Washington, incredible). Saw the biggest pine trees I’ve ever seen in my life. Neat hike.

Apologies for the sporatic and single-minded nature of the posts lately. I guess maybe I’ve just been trying to avoid writing about the inevitable. It was a fine run though and we had some fun out here. I’ve been surrounded by beauty for a solid two months, had a chance to surf the Pacific next to seals, hike up empty mountain slopes, and get a pretty good feel for part of the country that I knew little about. I did have a job interview yesterday morning with a local biopharmaceutical company that actually went really well, but really this was mostly a formality since other mitigating factors outside of my control are taking precedent right now. Ah well, as they say, life happens.

In the shower this afternoon, I was rinsing the salt water out of my wetsuit, and caught myself thinking a little cosmically. I’ve been hammering through the first season of Lost the past couple of days (a show I watched the first three episodes of when it first came out, but then got sidetracked, and have been surprising ignorant of since… nobody ruin anything for me!). And when you watch a show as good as Lost for hours on end it really sinks its teeth into your psyche. I like the feelings of fate, purpose, and interconnectedness woven into the story. I think I’ve gotten away from those feelings in my own life lately, or at least haven’t stopped to think about them. You slip into these routines and forget that there are bigger things at play in how your life is progressing. Actions you take affect those you know well or just happen to bump into in bigger way, I’m sure, than any of us can imagine.

I also think I feel a lot like John Locke’s charcater, like I’m stuck in a cooker-cutter society that I can function in because I have to, but that I’m also not really fulfilling my purpose for living either. It’s fun to watch his character (at least through the first 17 episodes that I’ve watched) revel in the exploration and the discovery of ways in which he’s useful to the island community. I guess at some point we’re all bumped into that all-important moment that our life has been preparing us for. You know? Things happen for a reason, they have to. I’m in Oregon right now for some reason and wherever next for another reason. At least I hope that’s how it all works.

Surf Report # 21

Location: South of Devil’s Punch Bowl State Park – 8 miles N of Newport, OR
Time: 2:00 pm- 5:30 pm
Air Temp: 55° F
Water Temp: 55° F
Wind: From N 9 mph
Waves: 5-8 ft
Gear: 5/3 wetsuit, 5 mm boots, 3 mm gloves, .5 mm hood

Holy crow, what a diverse and great wave day! The beach near the punch bowl was looking a little light when Dan and I stopped by this afternoon, so we wandered South down the beach a little ways. Started off fairly mellow. The forecast called for cleaner waves than what we experienced, but here and there we scored some super fun glassy head-high sets. The thing we noticed pretty much right off the bat was how “thick” the waves seemed to be. Kind of a depth and power behind each one that I haven’t seen before. Seemed to get lifted up forever when a wave rolled underneath.

After an hour or so, either the waves started to build or we drifted into a heavier zone. Probably both. Regardless, the wave intensity and power really started to rise. Without a doubt this was the day’s highlight. Huge steep thick waves. Just getting pummled and worked over and over again. Lots of hoots and hollers and laughter, but we really did take a beating too. Paddling for waves only to freefall for what seemed like six feet, landing, bowled over by wave impact, curling into a ball in the ensuing maestrom while your board flailed around you, popping up laughing into a mouthful of salt water, smacked again by the next wave. So good.

Finished the day by walking back up the beach back to calmer territory. Another seal poking its head up in the water nearby.